culture of the cosmos

Space exploration has had a significant impact on American culture, and American culture hosts a diverse and multifaceted opinion on the symbolism post space-race. Space is equally politics and science today due to the reciprocal influence that American culture and our space sector have on shaping our national identity, making technological advancements, and defining societal aspirations. American culture plays a crucial role in shaping the narrative and driving the pursuit of space exploration, ultimately defining our nations allocation of resources and therefore progress in the field; these sociocultural dynamics concurrently fuel the nation’s future beyond our atmosphere. Space explorations in turn plays a vital role in maintaining the USA as a superpower through a variety of key applications such as keeping the nation at the forefront of technological breakthroughs and innovation, enhancing security and defense capacities through space assets (potentially weaponry) which project power and a strategic military edge, enabling further international diplomacy and soft power (ISS), and instilling a thriving industry the encompasses government agencies (NASA) and private companies (SpaceX, Blue Origin, etc.) that secure our global position economically. In the modern day, our technological advancements have reached new ranges of possibility and investing in subfields such as machine learning or material sciences may have extended implications for space sciences and simultaneously society. For example, NASA’s QuAIL laboratory hosts a D-Wave machine, which essentially is a quantum supercomputer that utilizes machine learning and is one of the first of its kind. Progress made here holds implications nationally in a variety of ways: practical applications of the research could enhance our industries and improve individual lives.

This dynamic relationship emphasizes the role that the population plays in our potential space progress, and with the technological advancements being made, we ourselves hold the power in defining the extent to which the nation can wield it now more than ever. I personally have an acute interest in the space sciences and have grown up in a more advanced and enriching environment within my home, schools, and the area I live in (Seattle, or the entire coast, is comparatively very technologically advanced). Therefore, I am aware that my perspective, my prioritization, and personal investment in the interconnectedness of space and American culture may not be as strongly shared in the national population. On an individual scale, I feel like there is a responsibility as someone in my generation to help others recognize how far our opinions and interest can reach, such as providing funding and creating more careers that can propel our scientific advancement in space.

The space race and other events have defined a variety of American experiences, and we are again presented with a time of substantial technological change – but on a far more impactful scale. By recognizing the relationship our population and culture has on our space capacities, especially with the relatively recent launching of the JWST, we can accelerate our progress and ultimately our influence beyond the planet.